Morality by the Numbers: Utilitarianism, AI, and the Ethics of Optimization

The Deeper Thinking Podcast is digitally narrated

For anyone questioning whether the good can be calculated—or whether moral depth resists simplification.

Can we measure what is right? This episode explores the enduring allure—and deep complications—of utilitarianism, from Jeremy Bentham’s felicific calculus to the moral puzzles emerging from AI decision-making and climate policy. We explore what’s at stake when ethics is treated as math—and whether maximizing happiness comes at the cost of justice, democracy, and human rights.

From the Enlightenment’s dream of rational morality to contemporary dilemmas posed by autonomous systems, we trace the appeal—and dangers—of moral efficiency. We also consider whether utilitarian thinking has become the default in modern systems, even when its assumptions go unexamined.

This episode asks not just whether utilitarianism works—but what is lost when feeling, dignity, and moral ambiguity are flattened into numbers.

Reflections

This episode unpacks the quiet assumptions beneath modern systems. It wonders whether quantifying the good ends up minimizing what truly matters.

Here are some reflections that surfaced along the way:

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When we turn morality into math, we may gain clarity—but lose humanity.

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